The Southwest: Grand Canyon, Zion, & Bryce

Odometer: 208,110

Wow! It’s been a whirlwind since that initial anticipatory entry. Holy moly.

The First Night

We got into Williams, Arizona around dusk. Williams is a fun little cowboy-themed tourist town. . . think Capitola meets cowboys meets that part of SF where they sell all the SF theme junk. So there you have it! We had dinner at an underwhelming brewery and stayed the night at a cheap motel a bit outside of town. A perfectly easy ending to a long day of driving.

Ken’s Thoughts: I thought it was a quaint little town that was surprisingly happening. I enjoyed walking around the shops. . . but I don’t think that it needed more than a day.

The Grand Canyon

We woke up around 3:30am the next morning, because I had gotten it in my head that I wanted to see the Grand Canyon for sunrise. So we woke up well before the crack of dawn, and were in the car by 4:02 to catch the 5:30 shuttles from the Grand Canyon visitor center to the Yaka Point (… I think that’s what it was called).

But the thing was, we had hustled pretty good to get on the road. The Grand Canyon was an hour away, and the shuttles left every half hour. SO, if we were able to get there by 5, we could get on the first shuttle instead of the second.

So that’s exactly what we did. Kenny hauled it (safely) to the Grand Canyon, where we blundered our way through to find the parking lots (none of the signs were lit!). We could see the bus approaching – but we couldn’t see any of the roads or signs, and we had no idea where it would stop to pick people up. So we started running in the general direction it was going, determined to board the bus.

And we did! Just in the knick (nick??) of time!

We shared the shuttle with just one other couple who was geared up to hike the whole canyon. We, meanwhile, were wearing jeans and sweatshirts and hardly carrying anything at all.

The shuttle dropped us off at Yaka Point still in the pitch black darkness. Truly – you couldn’t see anything. With our headlamps, we could see the end of the walking area and cliffs – but we couldn’t tell if beyond was a 5ft drop of a 100ft drop.

We settled into a spot that looked right.

Then, we waited. We read the bible and sang worship songs, and just soaked in the wonder of the creation. Slowly – very slowly – what was once a blanket of stars from horizon to horizon started to lighten to reveal a silhouette skyline.

Then – again, extremely slowly – we could see a bit more and a bit more, but still in black and white.

The shuttles dropped off a few more people – but not many. Sunrise wasn’t “technically” until 6:15, so that meant most people would be showing up just before then.

But we revealed in the slow reveal.

We could start to see the other edge of the canyon, what actually lie beneath the drop off our cliff, and the in-betweens get slowly shaded in with black and gray hues.

Then finally, at 6:15 the sun crested over the horizon and the canyon was filled with golden sunlight. Finally, we could see between the shadows the red color of the canyon you see in all the pictures. It was magnificent, and such a cool way to see the Grand Canyon for the first time.

We stayed for a while longer, soaking it up and looking from different angles and viewpoints, until finally we felt like we were filled to capacity. Not that we had sufficiently appreciated the canyons for all it was worth, but that we had no space left to fill up with the beauty of it.

Very cool.

So we took the shuttle back to our car, and then started driving up north to Zion – stopping at a few lookout points along the way.

Kenny’s Thoughts: It really was one of the highlights of our trip, and I’m so glad that we got there early enough to experience the WHOLE sunrise – not just the sun cresting, but from starry sky to sun up. I feel like we got the whole experience, and I felt thoroughly satisfied by the time we left. It was really stunning. I think that’s it.

ZION NATIONAL PARK

*Note added at time of posting (9/21 @ 8:52pm): I talk about pictures in this portion, and I wish I could share them with you! Unfortunately for some weird reason, I can't get them off the GoPro. So they'll just have to wait. Sorry!!*

After a few hour drive (you have to drive around the Grand Canyon), we arrived at Zion National Park. We had made some sanity/stretch stops along the drive, so it was later then we had anticipated – but no worries! We didn’t have a strict schedule to keep, and there was nothing we had to do.

Just driving into the park was breathtaking. It was WAY cooler than I expected it to be!! HUGE rocks with crazy patterns, a SUPER long tunnel , crazy switchbacks down a steep road. Super cool!

We scored a spot in a parking lot that was supposedly full (woohoo!) and then we suited up for our day – water shoes and clothes we didn’t mind getting wet.

Because we were going to hike the Narrows.

We took the shuttle up the scenic drive to the top of the park. It’s a 40 minute shuttle, and you get a view of the whole park through the windows – really, such a fun way to see so much!! At the last stop, we got off and started our “hike” down the River Walk Trail. I put hike in quotes, because it was more of a leisurely walk.

Super beautiful! We chose this walk primarily because it ended at the Narrows, but also because it showcased a lot of other features characteristic to Zion: weeping walls, hanging gardens, super huge rocks. It had ‘em all!

So the river walk was lovely, but now we come to the part that has so far been the highlight of the trip for me: THE NARROWS!!!

The Narrows is the name for the trail that doesn’t actually have a trail – at least not in the normal sense of the word. The trail is the river. You literally walk into the river, and then continue walking upstream for as long as you want (well, up to 8 miles, I think). It is incredibly. The beauty is STUNNING and the FUN of it is unmatched.

Ken and I super lucked out, because as we were entering into the river, the people we cross paths with as they were finishing offered us their walking sticks. Walking sticks seemed to be a big deal on this hike (nearly everyone had them!) so we gratefully accepted.

Our gratitude grew as we went!

I really am having a hard time expressing how cool this was. You just felt cool doing it. The water varied from ankle deep to nearly waist deep in the places we went. If you kept going, it could get so deep that you had to swim.

Essentially, you just walk as far as you want until you’re ready to turn around. We walked as far as time would allow. Thank goodness we got pictures, because I don’t think I can sufficiently explain it. 

Seriously one of the coolest things I’ve done – not just on this trip, but ever.

I would love to go back to Zion just to hike the narrows all day.

But, eventually, the weather was cooling down, the wind was picking up, and Ken made the (smart) call that we should turn back. So we did, and we enjoyed our hike back – ready to be done by the time we reached the trail head of the Riverwalk. We’re trying to be conscious of being in this trip for the long haul, and not going too hard or too long on any one day at the risk of wasting the next one with exhaustion.

The walk back to the shuttle was lovely, the shuttle ride was beautiful, and then we were back at our car. Ken was my hero went back to the souvenir shop to convince them to sell us a Narrows magnet after they had already closed – and then we were on our way!

Kenny’s Thoughts: I’m just even trying to think of how to articulate it. . . It’s beautiful and utterly unique. You feel like you’re constantly surrounded by amazing vistas of precariously perched rock walls. And it looks like there’s different canyons just spider-webbing in all different directions. By far my favorite part was hiking up The Narrows. Trudging through the water and looking at the huge rock walls and getting up close with the plants hanging out of the wet walls – it was a really special experience. I think that’s it.

WEIRD DAY

The next morning, we woke and got to see in the light where we had stayed the night before. We had stayed in a trailer on a farm in Glendale, Utah. It was pretty! But it looked out of place – like we could have been in Southern Oregon. Surprisingly a lot of green. Regardless, we got ready, ate, had coffee, and read the Bible together while being visited the farm’s peacocks.

Then we were ready!

Unfortunately – our car wasn’t.

We had a flat.

We also had no service.

While Ken changed the tire to the spare, I walked about a quarter mile down the farm’s long driveway to the main road to see if I could get service. I could barely get service sometimes. Enough to text the owner of the trailer to see if he had recommendations, as well as text my family to see if they could find something. The owner pointed us to a town 3 miles south.

So I walked back to Ken, and now we were on our way.

Kinda.

3 miles south, we found the only shop: Roger’s Sinclair. It was the quintessential small town experience. Not rushed. One man (Roger) doing all the jobs at his little shop/gas station. Helping people with the pumps, ringing up customers, and when he could, checking out our tire, looking for a new one, and eventually replacing.

Effective? Yes! Efficient? Nope.

But that’s okay! We had nowhere to be. So we waited patiently and chatted, and an hour and a half or so later – we were on our way!

Kinda.

Because part way to Bryce, I realized I couldn’t find my glasses. Now, they aren’t essential, I mostly only use them for driving at night. But they are helpful, and I’d rather have them then not have them, so I gave Roger a call to see if he had seen them. He hadn’t.

Oh well. There are worse things to lose.

So we’re on our way! Well over half way to Bryce Canyon when Roger calls back to say that yes, he had indeed found my glasses.

Bittersweet. Hurray – the glasses are found! Oh no – they’re in Orderville. . . .

So we continue on to Bryce Canyon in hopes of finding a campsite with the intention of me turning around while Ken sets up. The sites are mostly first come first serve, so we couldn’t afford the extra time to turn around just then. We needed a campsite!

So onward to Bryce Canyon! Once our campsite was chosen (woohoo!) we unloaded and I started the 1 hour trek back to Orderville wile Ken was left to set up the tent and campsite.

The drive was easy, the glasses were found, and the return trip went seamlessly!

Kinda.

Part way back, Ken called me to tell me that our campsite had moved. Apparently the one we found that we thought had been vacant had been reserved, but not to worry, he had found a different one.

So about an hour later, I met Kenny back at our beautifully set up new campsite! It wasn’t until then that I learned that Ken had CARRIED all of our stuff from one campsite to the other – and they weren’t even on the same loop! Now, keep in mind that this includes stuff like our Yeti Cooler, which weighs a LOT and is hard for me to carry EMPTY! My husband is so strong. J

Despite all the small hurdles that day, we were actually really thankful throughout!! The car troubles could have been so much worse than a flat tire! I could have lost something actually important! We could have been kicked out of the campsite and not found another! (They were all full by the time I got back!). So – really – we felt blessed all day!

Kenny’s Thoughts: Even though so many things went wrong, I still think it was a pretty good day! Especially since all the things that went wrong could have been so much worse. Roger was nice and very patient with us. Though it was a reminder that I don’t think I could live in a small town – everything just moves so slow. Carrying heavy things at 8000ft altitude is apparently very exhausting! Haha. I was shocked at just how quick I got winded and dizzy. But everything worked out! We got a great campsite.

BRYCE CANYON

I think Ken described it best when he said that Bryce Canyon looks like if Gaudi (Spanish architect most famous for the Sangrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona) designed nature. The hoodoos (new word!) looked like the drip sand castles my dad used to make a the beach – and they were everywhere!

We decided to do the Navajo Loop trail. It was a shorter trail, but one of the most intense in terms of difficulty. It essentially had switchbacks that brought you straight down into the canyon, then walked along the canyon floor, then more switchbacks to bring you out of it.

Switchbacks with trees

My favorite parts were one of the first sets of switchbacks that were dotted by pine(?) trees, and then a part of the walk called Wall Street – named for the high walls on each side. Similar to the Riverwalk in Zion, we liked this walk because it showcased a lot of the features characteristic to Bryce: hoodoos (the sand castle towers), windows, fins, etc. We got to see a lot in a short (intense!) hike. It was great!

Ken on "Wall Street"

We soaked it in as much as we could. From the Grand Canyon through Zion and into Bryce, we’ve felt like we have these little cup-size capacity to appreciate the grandness and beauty of these places, and that we’re “full” far before we’ve really taken it all in. Like when you’re overwhelmed with lots of people talking to you at once and you can’t hear it all – you just take in what you can. So we took in what we could, thoroughly enjoyed the hike, and then headed back to our campsite.

Our awesome camping mugs from my aunt Sherri :-)

Typical camping night: hot dogs, chili, reading by the fire. We went to sleeping looking at the stars through the window in our tent. . .

. . . and we woke up looking at the same thing.

Because it was another early morning for us! We were out of our campsite by 7:15, and ready for the Bryce Scenic tour! Essentially, we drove all the way to the end of the park (it’s not a large park – 18 miles long), and then moseyed our way back – following the guide in our Lonely Planet guide book. 

Some places were just lookouts, some were little hikes/walks. All of it was beautiful! We ended with the grand finale of Inspiration Point, and by the time we left the park around 9:30, we felt like we had done a great job experiencing Bryce!

Kenny’s Thoughts: I loved it! I loved walking through and in-between the fins and the hoodoos. I loved getting up to a high vantage point in the morning and seeing all of them from a far. It’s a really breath taking place. But I also feel like we didn’t need more there than the time that we gave it. I’m really glad that we worked it into our road trip. And that’s all my thoughts.

Note: I think Ken brings up a good point. It seems like we’re really rushing through things when you read it all close together like this – and I suppose we are – but I also feel super satisfied! I think I could have spent maybe another day at Zion (we could spend a full day hiking the Narrows, then another doing a few other hikes), but overall – I’m super satisfied! While this is all super crazy looking and beautiful, I’m confirming was I already suspected: I am a forest person far more than a desert person. I like the shade covering of big trees, the smell of wet dirt, and having dewy mornings. I’d go back to Zion in a second (…maybe because the Narrows are all in the shade?), but I’m not sure if I’ll go back to the Grand Canyon or Bryce. . . I already feel so satisfied!!

Now, we’re closing the chapter on the Southwest portion of our trip and are on our way to Yellowstone! We’re taking a leisurely drive today, making a few stops along the way, and we’ll stay just outside the park tonight. We haven’t quite worked out what we’ll do. Luckily, we still have hundreds of miles more of road, and another trusty Lonely Planet guide book!!